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Combating cancer, injury and disfigurement in the most socially important part of our bodies – the face and mouth

The face is the only part of our body we cannot hide. It conveys our emotions and innermost feelings. We often judge each other on the basis of facial appearance, making assumptions on a whole range of issues.

People suffer the consequences of facial diseases, injuries and disfigurement every day. In the United Kingdom 6,500 people develop oral cancer every year. Around 125,000 young people sustain serious facial injuries and 15,000 people receive treatment for facial disfigurement.

Despite the severity of these issues, this remains a much neglected research area leaving thousands of those unfortunate enough to be affected with little hope for the future. Not enough is known about facial disease, injury and deformity, their psychological and emotional impact and, critically, which treatments are most effective. Saving Faces - The Facial Surgery Research Foundation is the only charity in the UK solely dedicated to the worldwide reduction of facial injuries and diseases. We are taking the lead in education and research to improve the physical and psychological treatment of all victims of oral cancer and other facial diseases.

About the Saving Faces Art Project

Our art exhibition displays paintings by BP National Portrait award winner Mark Gilbert, produced during a three year period as artist-in-residence in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at St. Bartholomew’s and the Royal London Hospital. The paintings portray the faces of patients before, after and in some cases actually during their surgery for injury, deformity or cancer.

Initiated and sponsored by surgeon Professor Iain Hutchison, the art project was conceived as a way of conveying to the public the possibilities of today’s facial surgery whilst at the same time communicating the strength of spirit which can enable people with facial disfigurements and trauma to lead full and happy lives. Portraits of 30 of the patients are displayed in the exhibition which was launched in spring 2002 at the National Portrait Gallery and has since toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the USA.

One series of paintings is of Henry de Lotbiniere who lost an eye and underwent 15 operations over 13 years as surgeons chased the spread of cancer of the salivary gland. Another picture shows Roland Scott staring out at us through his radiotherapy mask while another depicts Chris Pavlou whose face was smashed to pulp in a random act of violence. And there is Sue Morgan Elphick whose life was transformed after being treated for a facial disproportion. Some of the mid-operation pictures are not for the squeamish, but seen as part of a sequence these vivid canvasses take the viewer into an intense and powerful narrative. The paintings chart not only the patients’ physical transformations through surgery but also capture their emotional responses in a way photography can rarely achieve. Wherever the exhibition has been shown, the response of the public has been overwhelmingly positive: challenged to confront their preconceptions about disfigurement, most people find the paintings profoundly moving and uplifting.

For the patients involved, the experience of being painted proved a cathartic one and many developed a rapport with Mark, often confiding in him details of their lives which they shared with no one else. Whilst some of the patients might be reluctant to be photographed, they are all proud to have their portraits exhibited because the paintings engage with the individuality of the person behind the procedure being depicted.

Booking Artwork for Loan Exhibition

We are always delighted to receive requests for our exhibition to go on tour. If you would like your organisation to host our artwork exhibition or to enquire about availability of works, please write to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Please note, while Saving Faces provides insurance for the full value of the artwork on transit, we ask the Exhibitors to arrange and cover transportation costs for the collection and return of the artwork loaned. The Exhibitors will also be responsible for organising insurance for the Loaned artwork upon receiving the paintings at the Exhibitor's premises and for the full duration of their stay there.

The Saving Faces Art Project is the work of artist Mark Gilbert, artist-in-residence to the Maxillofacial surgery department. The paintings portray the faces of patients before, after and in some cases during their surgery. You can view the selection of artwork that are available for loan along with each individual patients' story below.

Conventionally, art therapy combines the disparate discipline of art and psychotherapy in treating patients with a range of psychological problems. Whilst disagreement still exists as to its theoretical assumptions, the practical emphasis is usually placed upon the art therapist in facilitating the production of art by the patient. The main aim of this process is to promote catharsis within the patient, that is, to allow the patient to release emotions which otherwise may prove difficult for the patient to discuss.

Tuba's story

Tuba is an 8-year-old girl who at the time of this painting lived with her parents and two sisters in London. Her parents, who come from Turkey, spoke little English but Tuba and her sisters were fluent. At that time Tuba's 13-year-old sister wanted to be a lawyer whilst Tuba wanted to be a doctor. Tuba started to develop two painless, but unsightly, swellings on the right side of her nose and around the outside of her right eye in 1998. These grew steadily and upset Tuba so that she changed from her normal outgoing personality into a rather shy, reclusive character.

She was also teased at school. These benign growths were caused by abnormal collections of blood vessels in the bones (cavernous haemangiomas).

In 2000, these growths were reduced in an operation. To avoid facial scarring, the growths were approached and reduced through an incision over the top of the head and the scalp was then "peeled down" to expose the bones of the face (bicoronal flaps). The scalp was replaced at the end of the operation and sutured in place.

Thomas' story

Thomas was a 27 year old advertising executive who enjoyed scuba diving, mountain biking and flying kites.

His nasal tip was bitten off by a dog in 1998. Despite attempts to graft the separated piece of nose, skin, cartilage and mucosa, this did not take and he was left with a blackened nasal tip.

His first operation involved transferring skin from his forehead down to his nasal tip. It was then left joined to his forehead and connected to his nasal tip for three weeks until it had taken. After three weeks it was cross-clamped with a metal clamp for one hour to ensure that it had taken to the tissues at the nasal tip. This pedicled skin flap was then divided and the excess material discarded. At this same operation ear cartilage was used as scaffolding to rebuild the underlying architecture of the nose.

He has undergone two subsequent operations to thin the skin and he will have a further operation to build-up the nose slightly more and to thin the nostrils.